Chapter 20
One Way Street 'is the 20th chapter of Taamo's Taiyou no Ie. Summary Fujita starts to complain about how tired he is at work, and Hiro agrees with him. Fujita starts to question Hiro about his family, and Hiro tells him that Daiki is moving back to their house. Hiro's boss comes over, and asks them about the deadline. He leans over to Hiro and whispers in Hiro's ear and asking about how his evening with Sugimoto went. Hiro replies that "nothing happened", and Hiro's boss teases him saying that Sugimoto has "been watching you like a tiger ready to pounce". Hiro's boss tells Hiro to go over and ask Sugimoto what she wants. As Hiro drinks coffee, he ponders what his boss meant. Blushing, Sugimoto comes over and apologizes to Hiro for what she did at the drinking party. Then, Sugimoto asks Hiro if they could have dinner together in order to discuss something that she has been wanting to talk about. Hiro debates about what to do, so her calls Mao asking for permission. At the phone, Mao yells angrily to tell him to go. Hiro declines Sugimoto's offer, and says that he has been busy lately. Sugimoto tells him that it is about the novel. At the Warring States Themed Bar, Hiro and Sugimoto are having dinner. Sugimoto is about to tell Hiro that she is not the writer of House of the Sun, but she decides not to because she will have to explain Mao and her own feelings for Hiro. Instead, she says that she is going on hiatus. Hiro tells her that he will be waiting for her to write again, and she changes the subject about Hiro's brother coming back. Sugimoto asks him about why Daiki had been living with his uncle, and Hiro tells her that his parents had died. While they eat in silence, Sugimoto thinks about Mao and worries about her relationship with Hiro. Sugimoto asks Hiro if her "little sister" is Mao, which makes Hiro choke on his beer. Hiro is surprised that Mao told Sugimoto, so he explains that Mao was "just a childhood friend" of his, and they were practically like siblings (which makes Sugimoto relieved). Hiro tells her to keep it a secret between the two of them. He asks her if anything happened between Mao and her, but Sugimoto says that there wasn't any trouble and how it was a "girls-only" thing. Hiro comes back home, and Hiro and Mao discuss about what Sugimoto said. Hiro tells her that Sugimoto said she was putting her novel on hiatus, and she asked about why he was living with Mao. Mao and Chihiro are at school, sitting outside and eating lunch. Oda comes over, but immediately hides behind them, because of Chihiro. Mao discusses to Chihiro about Radical (aka Sugimoto), and how she feels that she will be okay if Hiro falls for Radical. Chihiro suddenly remembers how Oda thought Chi and Mao both liked the same guy. Mao says that she told him that she liked the same guy as another friend (Radical). They realize that Oda is probably still confused about this situation, and Chi asks Mao to clear up the misunderstanding. Oda stands up, and tells Chi and Mao that he heard everything, making Chihiro angry. Oda claims that he wasn't satisfied because he thought that Mao was holding her feelings for Oda back. Chihiro, upset, leaves Oda and Mao. Oda asks Mao why she was living with Hiro, making Mao surprised. Mao realizes that her dad told Oda about it, and she says that she is not getting along with her new family. Oda encourages her to not give up. Mao tells her that she was happy when Oda confessed to her, and she apologizes. Oda tells her that he was too pushy. The next scene is Oda sitting alone at the same place from before. He knows Chihiro is still there, and apologizes to her. Chihiro sits behind Oda and cries. At home, Mao questions Hiro about Oda knowing about Hiro. Mao tells Hiro that Oda had told her his feelings for Mao, and she finally turned him down today. Hiro tells her that she was brave, and acknowledged his feelings. Daiki calls, and tells Hiro that he is officially moving to Hiro's place. Mao tries to talk to Daiki on the phone, but Daiki hangs up because there was nothing to talk about. Hiro says that Mao should put her living alone plans on-hold, and she should talk to her parents about it. At Kobe, Daiki is talking with his aunt. Daiki's aunt asks if Daiki was coming to Hiro's house if it was "because you found someone you like", making Daiki retort back saying it wasn't true and blush in response. Character in Order of Appearance Quotes Navigation Category:Manga Category:Chapters